War Games
by Cursed Aesahaettr
Summary: What started with a simple video game will begin a domino effect that was set up hundreds of years ago. And try as they might the Crystal Gems will have no way of stopping this downward spiral - or of keeping Steven out of the mess. New faces will bring about a new hope, but also unfathomable dangers. Includes OCs, centered around the main cast.
1. War Games

"_Hyah!_" With a mighty swing of his sword a green clad warrior swept away a wave of enemies. Bright and shiny coins rained down as his spoils and he moved onto a new section of the volcanic cave he was set to protect.

The shing of metal and several unintelligible grunts sounded from the tv screen in Steven Universe's room, the young Gem sitting a few inches from it rapidly tapping a series of buttons on his game controller. So involved was he that he didn't hear the sound of the warp pad activating downstairs and Pearl calling to him that she and Garnet had returned from their mission.

"Steven?" She called, climbing up the stairs to find him. She stopped short when she caught sight of his video game. "What on earth are you playing?"

"Stormshire Soldiers- yeah! Finish him off!" Steven stuck his tongue out as he sliced through a boss. "It's a cool new war game that's super fun."

Pearl however was less amused. "A game of war? How is that fun?"

"It just is. Look, you get coins for beating up the bad guys that you can use to buy cool stuff." Steven pointed to the screen.

Amethyst poked her head up from the first floor. "I wish that's how it worked in real life."

Steven paused his game and looked at her. "But we get gems from monsters."

"Yeah, but you can't buy stuff with them."

Pearl sighed and shook her head. "War is not meant to be fun. It's dangerous and can lead to countless, unnecessary deaths."

"It's only a video game. Besides, it's not like wars happen in Beach City." Steven looked up at her.

"Yeah, anymore." Amethyst snorted.

Steven frowned and put down his controller. He paused and suddenly got a smile. "Oh yeah, how did your mission go?"

Pearl brightened up in an instant. "Wonderfully! It turns out that the outpost is still in perfect condition."

"Really?" Steven gushed, stars in his eyes. "Can we visit it? I wanna go."

"Are you sure you're not too busy with your 'war game'?" Pearl questioned, a sly little smile on her face.

"No way, this is way cooler!" Steven hopped up and started down the stairs. "Oh, hold on." He jogged back up to save his game and turn it off before racing downstairs to the warp pad.

"You can't say he has no enthusiasm." Pearl mused with a smile.

"Come on guys!" Steven yelled from the pad, bouncing up and down where he stood.

Amethyst was the first to join him. "Should we bring Garnet along?"

"I think we'll be okay. We did a thorough check while we were out." Pearl assured her as she stepped onto the warp pad. Bright light briefly engulfed them as they were transported.

"Whoa!" Steven gasped when they arrived. They had appeared in a great hall of polished stone, marble columns lined all in a row and at its end a statue of a hooded woman stood with a staff in her hands. He stepped off the pad and turned to look all around. "It's amazing!" He jumped when he heard his voice echoing through the hall.

Steven grinned. "It's just like part of Stormshire Soldiers."

Pearl's proud smile faltered slightly at his comment. "Perhaps, but these halls have seen _real_ war. And this is only the entrance hall." She started leading their little tour group deeper into the outpost past vast stairways that led endlessly upwards and large bunker like areas, all decorated with crystal spikes that emitted their own light. The whole networking system glowed a warm and inviting shade of green that Steven had never seen with his own eyes.

"What is this place?" Steven breathed, not knowing he'd spoken aloud.

"Rose called it the Infirmary. She and other gems with healing abilities created it after seeing human hospitals." Pearl explained, her eyes misting with memories from years past. She shook her head to keep from reminiscing and gasped. "Amethyst! Leave that statue alone!"

Amethyst groaned from where she had been climbing on a statue of a Gem with her hands outstretched. She had been pretending that the statue was strangling her and dropped back to the ground. "You never let me have any fun."

Steven was laughing but Pearl frowned at her. "It's not 'fun' to disrespect your fellow Gems. Chrysoprase was a hero to more Crystal Gems than you could count."

"Yeah, well then where is she now?" Amethyst countered, placing her hands on her hips.

Pearl was taken aback and looked away. "I… I don't want to talk about it."

An awkward silence ensued and Steven looked between them. "Hey, let's keep looking around." He said to try and cheer them up. "I bet you there's cool stuff in the other rooms."

"Alright." Pearl conceded.

They set off once more into the outpost. Meanwhile Pearl set it upon herself to give a brief history lesson on the ancient grounds. It had been carved into a mountain in the Andes mountain range during a war with what she only described as "a group of bad gems" to give shelter to any wounded Crystal Gem, and she talked about how Rose and Chrysoprase had formed it there together in the hopes that it would be a safe haven deep within the rock at a time when the "bad gems" had managed to seal off Rose's healing fountain. As interesting as it was (and Steven had to admit it was pretty cool to know his mom had helped to make such a grand and wonderful place) he found himself spacing out during her explanation. He still heard her voice but it drowned into a dull buzzing. Steven kept glancing around at the many statues that appeared in each hall, wanting to memorize every detail. Even if the gem carved out of stone had gone, he wanted know what they had been like.

While Amethyst joked about something Pearl had said involving another gem they'd known, something caught Steven's eye. He glanced at the pair who paid no attention to him as they bickered and slipped down a side hall to investigate it. Despite Pearl's report it looked like part of the hall had collapsed in on itself, crushing a statue until he could no longer recognize a face on it. He took a few steps closer to inspect it when a rumble shook the mountain post, sending dust and pebbles from the ceiling.

"Steven!" Came Pearl's cry from far off. The young gem panicked and looked back the way he came. Another quake rocked the hall and rock exploded from above, the hall he'd come in through caving in.

Steven cried out and ducked behind the crumbled statue, and just in time. A shrill whirring sound like a dentist's drill broke through the sound of debris settling. Emerging from the wreckage was a great beast that stood as tall as the ceiling several yards above him. When Steven peeked out to get a look at it he could only describe it as a giant badger with metallic claws. On its head instead of a set of eyes was one giant faceted stone with stripes like a tiger. It gleamed in the crystal lighting and lit up with a bright orange light as the creature swung its head around. It lumbered a few feet away from where it had emerged, keeping its snout low and moving his head here and there.

"Wait a minute," Steven whispered to himself. "It can't see me…"

But he spoke too soon. The badger turned towards where he was hiding and screeched, scaring Steven out of his skin. It dove in his direction and spun in the air, bringing its claws together to form a drill. He leaped out of the way just as it crashed into the caved in wall behind him and tunneled its way through the rock.

"Pearl!" Steven shouted as he ran down another hall.

"Steven!" Pearl's voice was far off, almost an echo of her reply.

Steven kept running, turning here, climbing a staircase there. At one point he hit a dead end and scrambled to go back the way he'd come. "Oh, why are there so many tunnels!"

He turned a tight corner and ran right into Amethyst, falling onto his back. He shook his head and looked up. "Ame- Hey!" He squirmed when Amethyst hoisted him over her shoulder.

"No time, big monster, gotta go!" She shouted at him, taking off down the hall.

Steven lifted his head to see Pearl facing the badger creature the way Amethyst had come. "Pearl! Amethyst we have to go back and help her!"

"Nuh uh, she can handle it! We've gotta get Garnet!"

"If she needs Garnet's help then she needs _our_ help!" Steven struggled and slipped out of Amethyst's grip, running back towards Pearl.

"Steven!" Amethyst shouted but he didn't stop.

Pearl leaped up when the badger brought his claws down on where she was standing, using her spear to stab the top of its head and vault over to land behind it. But just as she'd landed it spun around and swatted her into one of the columns with enough force to break it. She collected herself in time to see the metal claws speeding towards her, but before they connected a flash of red appeared and Steven stood over her with his bubble wrapped around the two.

"Steven! You're supposed to be going back with Amethyst!" Pearl cried, hysterical. If he got hurt she'd never forgive herself.

"You can't fight it alone." Steven said with a serious face. "But I'll try to stay out of the way."

Pearl hesitantly gave a nod. "Alright."

Their moment was cut short by the monster striking their protective bubble, eliciting a loud _twang_. Pearl looked up at Steven. "On my count let go of your bubble and run down to the end of the hall. Be ready to use your shield."

Steven nodded and crouched down to run. "Ready?" Pearl asked, glancing between Steven and the badger, waiting for the perfect moment. To her time slowed until she saw it begin to raise its claw back from one of its strikes. "NOW!"

Steven let his bubble disappear and made a break for it, pushing himself to run as fast as he could while Pearl jumped up onto the badger's arm. She ran up the length of the appendage and jabbed at the badger's head. It roared and clawed at its own head to grab her but she had already leaped out of its reach. Pearl dashed to the side before it could sense her presence on the ground and dove between its feet to attack it from behind. She kept it busy for as long as she could. Usually fatal strikes became less and less powerful. She moved gracefully about to confuse the beast, always just in sight of its tiger-like gem.

But alas, hesitance made way for vulnerability. And repetition made her predictable. Just as she was ready to drive it towards Steven to give the final blow it landed a hit dead on, knocking her aside.

"Pearl!" She could hear Steven call her name from down the hall. Steven started to run towards her but a hand pushed him back. "Garnet?" He looked up but the woman he saw was not his familiar friend. Hair the color of ash, skin a pale green. But she did seem a bit familiar to him…

The stranger raised her hand to her chest and drew out a staff, though the image of it fizzled and broke as he tried to focus on it. She took a stance and pointed it at the beast, and suddenly he knew – one of those statues had been of her! "Hey Tiger's Eye!"

The badger froze mid swing and turned its head to look at her. It roared and raced towards her. She raised the staff and a brilliant blast of green light fired from the crystal on its head to crash straight into the beast's skull. The force of the blast sent it flying back into the wall at the end of the corridor, and it exploded in a spray of orange sparks, leaving only its gem behind.

Steven's jaw was on the floor. He turned to the stranger to ask who she was but his voice died when he saw she'd dropped to the floor. "Oh no!" He knelt down beside her and turned her over onto her stomach. "Are you alright?"

The woman groaned and grabbed at her chest. Now that she was lying still he could see that she really _was_ a gem, with a bright emerald over her heart. It was riddled with cracks even worse than Lapis' had been when they'd met.

"Steven, get back." Pearl said as she limped over, leaning on her spear. She stopped to look at the newcomer and dropped her spear. "O-Oh my goodness… Emerald!" She ran the rest of the way over and gently picked the woman up in her arms. Emerald's body was starting to melt slowly. "No, please, stay with me!"

"Pearly?" She whispered.

"Y-Yeah, it's me." Pearl smiled painfully, looking around and then at Steven. Her eyes widened. "Steven! Steven you need to fix her gem!"

"Wha? But I can't!" He said in a panic. "It's gone, remember!"

"You've got to try!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Amethyst called as she and Garnet ran up. They stopped short with shock on their faces.

Pearl ignored them, looking to Steven with a plea in her eyes. "You have to try…"

Steven looked down at Emerald and forced back a whimper. He _had_ to try, because otherwise she might die! He squatted down beside her and worked up enough spit to put on his hand. He took a deep breath and pressed it against her cracked gem, waiting. And waiting. Seconds ticked by and he grew anxious.

Then all at once a warm light shone and flashed so bright that he had to look away. When he could see again Emerald's eyes were bright and the cracks in her gem had sealed. She sat up on her own and looked down at her newly reformed gem.

"It's… It's whole again…" Emerald whispered. Tears sprung up in her eyes and she looked to Steven. "Who are you?"

Steven was grinning from ear to ear. He had his magic back! "My name's Steven."

"Steven?" She echoed. "But… you're a gem?"

Pearl laid her hand on Emerald's shoulder. "There's so much to explain. We all thought you were dead, or worse." Her voice was wavering and she cleared her throat. "But you're safe now."

Garnet spoke up. "Let's get you home."

Pearl helped Emerald to stand and began to lead her to the warp pad, Amethyst and Steven walking behind her. Garnet collected the tiger's eye gem before following them there.

When they'd returned to the beach house Pearl took Emerald to her room so they could catch up and Garnet went to her respective room. Amethyst bugged Steven to start playing Stormshire Soldiers again – or in her own words, "Dumbshire Losers" – to entertain her.

Steven looked down at the remote for the game, thinking back to how they'd fought the Tiger Badger in the Infirmary. Pearl had said real war had real losses, and they'd almost lost his new friend. "I think I've had enough fighting for a long time."

* * *

I'll keep this note short and sweet if I can. This is the first installment of what I imagine will become a series of one shots around OCs I've created for Steven Universe. The cover is my own art of Emerald and I tried to stay true to the SU art style. I may link a small gallery of art featuring my OCs as the story progresses to help the readers visualize them better. The best way to read this story is to picture each chapter as an actual episode of the show, which should hopefully explain why they're all short. Along with animated tidbits that wouldn't translate well to words, it's only supposed to last about fifteen minutes since each SU episode is only fifteen minutes long. And starting from here the story will follow the canon storyline up until On the Run since that is as far as I've gotten in the series, occasionally adding in crucial information that might fit into the canon I will set in the story.

Although I have most of the story already planned, I'd certainly love to hear any and all ideas you as the readers/viewers might want to see, and by all means I would love ideas for OCs to add in as the story progresses. All I ask is that, should I decide to use your idea, you allow me to manipulate and write them however I feel works best for the story and that you limit OC submissions to my PM inbox (which will always be open). I love hearing feedback and ideas from other equally creative people.

Oh, and let me know if you understand what Stormshire Soldiers is referencing. I couldn't help but add it in there.


	2. Olden Girls

Steven had never taken this much time staring at the Gems' gate before. At this point he could describe it in perfect detail, down to every tiny scratch that Amethyst had probably caused over the years. He twitched his leg, tapped his foot, drummed his fingers over his lap, desperately willed the door to open to show his friends inside but nothing happened.

Amethyst happened upon him after coming home from the boardwalk and tossed a fry bit at his head. Steven sat up and turned around to look at her, shaking out his hair until the little potato dropped back out. "How long are they going to take? They've been in there for _hours_."

"Have you been sitting there the whole time?" Amethyst made a face.

"Uh…" Steven shook his head. "You're missing the point. What if they never come back out? I didn't even get to hang out with Emerald."

Amethyst laughed. "Steven, they won't stay in there forever. I'm sure Pearl's just lecturing her ears off in there."

"Aw." Steven sighed and hopped up from the ground.

Amethyst held out the greasy bag of fries and he took a handful, shoveling them into his mouth. "Why don't you take a break from sentry duty and we can go throw rocks at the sunbathers on the beach."

"Won't we get in trouble?" Steven asked, already starting to follow her out of the house.

"Not if they don't catch us."

So a few minutes later the two found themselves on the boardwalk, their legs hanging of the side. Amethyst had spent the entire walk over gathering up stones to toss but Steven wasn't up to joining her in her shenanigans. That and he didn't feel like being banned from the walk just because Amethyst had convinced him to tag along.

So while Amethyst disturbed the peace Steven tried to find some other way to distract himself from the door. He counted the waves as they fell against the pier and hummed along with the seagulls to make a song. He juggled a few of Amethyst's rocks and beat boxed and stared dramatically at the horizon. But everything he did kept reminding him of Pearl and Emerald. The way the water turned green close to the shore, the way seagulls flew close to the water like they were dancing, and especially the way that Mr. Smiley was chewing out Amethyst for throwing the rocks.

"Hey!" Steven gasped and ran over to stop the situation from getting worse.

After a ton of apologizing for Amethyst's behavior (and sucking up to Mr. Smiley so he'd forget the whole thing) Steven finally got the chance to get away and walk back to the house with Amethyst. He ran up the stairs ahead of her, suddenly reinvigorated by the idea that Pearl might be back from her talk with Emerald.

"Pearl!?" He called out when he got inside. There was no sound in reply and he sighed. "Aw man." He trudged over to the kitchen and got out a snack.

Amethyst followed him, leaning on the counter. "You know, I could always sneak you in there if you're so worried about them."

Steven thought it over for a moment, crunching on a cheesy cracker. "I don't know, Pearl would be pretty upset if she saw us spying on them."

"Yeah, but we won't _let them_ know we're there. We'll stay out of sight." Amethyst started towards the door leading into the temple. "Trust me on this one."

"The last time I went with you, you were banned from the boardwalk."

Amethyst waved him off and opened the door to her room, shoving Steven inside.

"Oof!" Steven stood up from where he'd fallen and looked around. "This isn't Pearl's room, it's yours."

Amethyst snorted. "No dip, dummy. If we're going to sneak in we can't just go barging in through the front door. We've got to be smart about this." She walked into the center of her room and started searching the floor, walking past a few puddles before stopping at one in particular.

Steven jogged up. "Oh yeah, I remember these now. This one goes to Pearl's room, right?" When Amethyst nodded he broke into a grin and shoved his face into the water.

Bubbles shot past his face for a moment before he hit fresh air, and he was staring directly up at Pearl's ceiling. He shifted his body a bit to get comfortable and slid forward so he could look around. It was tricky since half of his body was supposed to be facing down and the other half was facing up, but he finally managed to catch a gleam of bright green in the corner of his eye.

Pearl and Emerald were sitting on the highest waterfall with their feet folded underneath them. Pearl had his back turned towards her but Emerald was facing him directly across from her. Luckily she was too focused on hers and Pearl's conversation to notice him. After a moment Amethyst's head appeared beside his and she made a silent shushing motion so he wouldn't say anything.

They turned back to their targets and listened intently. Emerald was paused in her speech and had her staff lain across her lap. Occasionally she would pick at the green jewel at the tip.

"It was so cold and dark. And I didn't have the strength to project my physical form to free myself. I'm not sure how I managed to survive that long without disappearing altogether." Emerald looked up at Pearl. "For so many years there was nothing but silence. I remember hearing Spessartite come to the statue to speak, saying she wished I could still be there with her. And then silence."

"We saw the fragments from your gem in the rubble." Pearl said with a hint of melancholy in her voice. "Diaspore was the one to proclaim your d-" She hesitated. "It was hard for everyone to come to terms with the fact that you had vanished. Rose most of all."

Emerald hung her head. "I still can't believe that she's gone."

"It was difficult for us as well." Pearl nodded. "But she still lives on in Steven. You wouldn't be able to imagine how much he's just like Rose."

Emerald smiled at that and looked up again. She started suddenly, noticing the pair of eavesdropping heads floating nearby. Steven panicked and shook his head furiously and put a finger to his lips. She grinned and looked to Pearl. "I should hope so. He seemed very kind when we met."

Steven pulled his head back up and sat back, giving a big gasp as if he had been drowning. Amethyst rejoined him on the surface and gave him a funny look. "You weren't even underwater."

"I know." Steven smiled and Amethyst laughed at him. He stood up to brush off his pants, much happier now. "I'm glad Emerald's okay."

"See? I told you they'd be fine. They're like two old ladies catching up with each other. They'll probably be up gossiping all night." Amethyst walked back out of her room with Steven close behind. "Let's go get a donut while we wait."

"But we already ate fries earlier."

"Are you saying you don't want super delicious donuts?"

Steven paused with a serious face. "Absolutely not."

Amethyst grinned. "That's more like it." They left the house once more and headed for the Big Donut.

Sadie was at the counter today and smiled when Steven opened the door. "Good afternoon Steven."

"Good afternoon Sadie." Steven gave a little bow. "We've come for your finest treats, ma'am."

Sadie motioned to the counter. "Anything in particular?"

Steven came over and looked down at the display. "Hm…" There were so many kinds and he'd tried them all at least once. One in particular stuck out, a jelly donut with bright green frosting. If he remembered right they had lime jelly inside and were leftover from St. Patrick's Day. He pointed at it through the glass. "That one, please."

"Are you sure?" Sadie asked, looking up at him with a skeptical expression. "The last time you had it you threw it back up and Lars had to clean it up."

"Yeah, don't remind me." Lars came in from the back room carrying a box marked "napkins". "Just pick some other gross donut that won't make you puke."

"But it reminds me of Emerald." Steven pouted.

"Huh?"

"We found another Gem yesterday." Amethyst piped up. "Now give us some donuts."

Sadie relented and proceeded to get Amethyst a regular glazed donut, handing Steven his bright green donut. "So there are more of you out there?"

"Uh huh." Steven nodded excitedly.

"She's not a complete weirdo, is she?" Lars asked.

"Be nice Lars. Besides, for all you know it could be a guy." Sadie said.

Steven shook his head. "Emerald's a girl. And she's very nice." He took a bite of his donut and smiled, but his sweet smile curdled almost immediately as he gagged.

Lars scowled. "See, I told you! Sadie I'm not cleaning up if he hurls." He walked back into the storage room.

Sadie gave Steven a sympathetic smile. "I can get you a regular donut if you'd like." She offered, one that Steven did not pass up on.

Once he had a normal, tasty donut in hand the three of them sat around to chat, although Steven and Sadie did most of the talking. He told her about everything Pearl had told him in the Infirmary and what they'd overheard in Pearl's room – telling her in strict confidence that she wouldn't tell Pearl, of course. And he almost gushed over finally having his healing powers back.

"I was so worried that it might not work and that she'd just die." Steven explained.

"You looked like you'd start crying like a baby." Amethyst snorted, laughing.

Sadie frowned. "Still, it was brave of you to help her. I'd love to meet her soon."

Steven smiled. "I bet I can get her to come and visit. You can't visit Beach City and not get a Big Donut donut after all."

Sadie brightened at that and they finished chatting on a light note. When they'd finished eating and paid for their donuts Steven and Amethyst headed back to the temple, racing each other to the door when they hit the sand. Steven was close to winning until Amethyst turned into a bird and flew right over his head to the door.

"No fair!" Steven cried out, frowning at the purple bird. He swatted at her and opened the door only to let out a gasp. "Emerald!"

Pearl and Emerald were standing in the main room and they both turned when they heard the two of them approaching the door. Emerald smiled when she saw him. "Hello Steven."

Steven jogged over with a big smile. "Did you guys have fun in Pearl's room?

Emerald nodded. "It was a pleasant talk. But I was hoping I'd get to spend some time with you. After all you saved my life."

Steven blushed, scuffing his shoe on the floor. "Aw, shucks."

Amethyst flew in and landed on his head. "He couldn't stop thinking about you either."

"Gah, Amethyst!" Steven swatted at her until she landed and turned back into herself.

Amethyst grinned. "Steven's got a crush!"

Steven frowned and crossed his arms. "I do not!" He turned away and ignored Amethyst while she chanted her claim. He blinked when he heard a laugh and looked at Emerald. He felt his cheeks heat up and became flustered. "I-It's not true!"

Emerald smiled. "I'm sure it isn't. Either way, I'm much older than you are. It would be a bit odd if we were together."

"Yeah, _Amethyst_." Steven gave the purple Gem a look.

"Pfft, alright whatever." Amethyst started walking away. "You're totally crushing."

"I am not!"

* * *

**A/N: **Aw, blushing Steven. For future reference Steven and Emerald will not be a pairing in this. I mean Emerald is as old as his mom, that's not going to happen. But I won't make any guarantees that other pairings won't happen like Stevonnie or Larsadie. I like having a hint of fluffy relationships.

The next chapter or the chapter after should involve our next OC in the lineup, so get excited for that! And as of a few days ago I've put my Deviantart on my profile, so instead of changing the cover periodically I'll just upload any images of them there. Not to self advertise, but it will seriously be worth checking that out when more new faces get introduced. Personally I like having a real visual to go off of and I'll be sure to at least upload any sketches of my OCs I make. And as of right now? There are at least six OCs that I have slated to make even tiny appearances within this story.

Once again I am totally open to any ideas or characters that you the viewers might want to see appear in the story. No idea is a bad idea, but we can always improve on it later. Just remember that I'll be interpreting any submitted things my own way, though I'll stay true to your original ideas.

Until next chapter~


	3. Affairs of the Heart

_I'm not going to lie, I really don't know why this chapter was published. My muse for these characters was stale for so long that I figured it was just a dream thinking this story might be continued. But here we are, no? _

_Eh... Don't get used to it._

* * *

"Connie, meet Emerald."

Steven had invited his newest friend along for a walk on the beach so she could meet the people of Beach City. He didn't tell her that he'd gotten all of his friends to come out and see her, since it took a bit of convincing for her to leave Pearl and Garnet during their conversation. But now they were out with sandals on their feet walking along the shore. Emerald had made a bright green parasol appear from her Gem and held it over her shoulder. When Connie came jogging up in her bathing suit she looked her over with a curious gaze and a smile.

"Hi." Connie waved, reciprocating her smile. "Steven told me all about you yesterday. My name's Connie."

"Pleased to meet you, Connie. You're Steven's partner?" Emerald asked.

Connie's smile fell away. "Huh?"

"His romantic partner; I can see that you care about him." She explained, beginning to frown. Steven and Connie both looked a bit stumped and flustered and Emerald's cheeks tinged a deep green. "Oh dear, I-I mean he mentioned that you two are close. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have used my senses to assume anything."

"I'm going to go swim now." Connie stammered. "It was nice meeting you." She gave a tiny wave before wading into the surf.

"Later Connie." Steven called after her, forcing an awkward laugh.

Emerald looked down. "I'm sorry Steven. That was _very_ inappropriate of me. I guess I forgot that humans aren't as in tune to each other's hearts like I am."

Steven looked up at her. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean anything by it." He paused. "Wait, what?"

Emerald scuffed up a bit of sand and started walking again. "It's one of my abilities. I can see into others' hearts. Or in a Gem's case their soul. But it's wrong to look without their permission. Maybe I've been under all of that rubble for too long."

"That's actually really cool." Steven smiled. "Here, I give you permission to look in mine."

Emerald chuckled. "I already know I'll find a great deal of love in there." She said, looking at him. "Including a love for… Cheesy fries?"

Steven beamed. "They're delicious."

They both laughed and fell back into a comfortable silence. Emerald twirled her parasol, watching a seagull peck at the sand just ahead.

"Can you do animals?" Steven suddenly asked.

"Hm. I don't think I've ever tried." Emerald admitted. She looked at the seagull and giggled. "He's staring at you, Steven. His heart shows a fondness like he knows you."

"Really?" Steven smiled. "He must be one of the seagulls I feed when I come to the boardwalk. I think… I'll name him Seavert."

"Are you really naming dorky animals again?"

Steven looked up to see Lars walking up with Sadie. Sadie playfully punched his arm for the remark. "Hey Steven. We got your message. Though, it may have been smarter to leave us a note rather than to tape it to Lion's paw."

"I trusted him." Steven assured her, beaming. "Emerald, these are my best friends Lars and Sadie. They run the Big Donut. Lars, Sadie, this is Emerald."

Emerald gave them a wave with her free hand. Sadie smiled and waved back. "Steven told us all about you the other day. He was so excited. Isn't that right Lars?" She looked up at him.

Lars nodded. "Yeah, he was so excited he almost threw up."

"Lars!"

Steven frowned. "That's not true."

Lars snorted. "Right. I'm gonna go get some rays." He walked off without another word.

Sadie sighed and gave Emerald a sad smile. "I'm sorry, he's not always a complete jerk. He's nicer once you get to know him."

"Right." Emerald nodded, watching Lars go.

"So, do you like Beach City so far?" Sadie asked.

Emerald gave a nod and returned her attention to Sadie and Steven. "It's a very peaceful place. I can see why Rose would settle here."

"I dunno, it's not quite as peaceful as it used to be…"

"Huh?"

Steven nodded along with Sadie's words. "There've been a lot of gem creatures recently. The Centipeedle Mother, the giant worm, the Red Eye. Actually I'm not sure the Red Eye was a gem at all…"

Emerald frowned. "Oh my."

"But the Gems always save the day." Steven said quickly to reassure her. "And now that you're here we have even more of us to help. You _and_ your magic wizard staff!"

Emerald made a face. "It's not magic. And what's a 'wizard'?"

"They're magical old people who cast spells and defeat monsters." Steven explained. "Like the magic you used to fight the Tiger Badger."

"Tiger Badger?" Sadie piped up, feeling a little left out.

Emerald sighed, glancing at Sadie. "A corrupt gem, once called Tiger's Eye. And it was _not_ magic that I used, only a bit of technology. My staff is a conduit for the power of my gem, nothing else. The proper term might be concussive blasts, not… magic spells."

"So, like lazer punches."

"Wha- Sure." Emerald smiled, exasperated. "Let's call them that."

Sadie raised her hand and made a circular motion with her fingers. "Can we back pedal a second? What exactly do you mean by a corrupt gem? You mean there are bad ones, too?"

"Ooh, ooh!" Steven looked up at Emerald. "Can I explain this one?"

"Certainly."

Steven put on a serious face. "Garnet told me all about this one time. Gems who lose their way sometimes become corrupt. Like if they're all alone, like a loner gem. They don't have others around to help them when things get tough and they go all animal and start killing people."

Emerald glanced at him. "That's a… rough translation. People need contact with others. They need the social interaction. Gems are the same way. And when a gem is tasked to protect a remote area sometimes without the other gems around to help them their morals get mixed up. It becomes less about protecting others and more about protecting themselves. Even before we came to Earth this phenomena occurred with gems who were sent to investigate distant planets." She shivered from the memories. "They take on more primitive and primal forms, creatures with armor or weapons that surpass the ones we take as humanoids."

Sadie frowned. "Wow. And what happens after they're… you know…"

"Garnet usually bubbles them up to store." Steven said. "Pearl says we still don't have a way to turn them back. I think it's like this one show I watch, where people lock away other people's hearts and it turns them evil. And in the end love is what turns them back." He frowned. "But Pearl said it's not that easy in real life."

Emerald sighed. "It used to be."

"Huh?" Sadie and Steven both asked at once. Emerald lowered her gaze, her hands turning white from gripping her parasol tightly. Steven stepped closer. "What do you mean?"

"Rose and I… We both could." Emerald whispered, barely able to meet his eyes. "Rose was much better at it than me, being older. We could both see into other's hearts, including corrupted ones. But when my gem cracked it stopped. I couldn't reach out to anyone. I've been trying to practice it since you healed me but I've lost my touch."

Steven was slack jawed. "But… But my healing came back. It came back in time to save you. Maybe you just need to give it time like I did."

"Maybe." Emerald took a deep breath and put a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Maybe one day I can teach it to you, too. After all, you're Rose's son."

Steven smiled. "That'd be so sweet!"

Emerald chuckled. Sadie smiled at the two of them. "Well, it was nice getting to know you Emerald, but I should probably catch up with Lars before he turns another shade of red." She waved to them and walked off.

Emerald watched Sadie go with a little smile. She turned back to Steven and gave a start.

His smile had grown twice as big and even without her empathetic ability she could tell he was really excited, though for what reason she had no clue. "Steven?"

"I wanna try the thing!"

"What thing?"

"Your heart reading thing. I want to try." Steven pleaded. "Who knows when it could come in handy?"

Emerald gave him a look. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Steven huffed indignantly. "I was born ready."

* * *

"Hngh!"

Emerald sighed. She and Steven sat in a dimly lit section of the temple that had been cleared out for the green gem. On request she'd been given a space near the head of the temple statue, where small diamond shaped window panes gave a look at the ocean outside. The windows were the only light since the sun was still up, but Emerald had mentioned once that the green crystals growing from the ground served as nocturnal lighting. "Relax, Steven. It isn't something you can force. Take a deep breath."

Steven released the breath he'd been holding to refresh his lungs, taking it slowly.

"Now, just breathe for now. Focus on the in and out. It's clear you still have some basics to master." Emerald instructed calmly.

Steven gave a tiny nod and kept breathing. He started to close his eyes, almost drifting off.

"Please wake up, Steven."

He snapped his eyes open to see that she was smiling. "You need your eyes open for this." Steven nodded again and went back to breathing. _In and out… In and out…_

"Now, the first step you need to take is to become self aware. You'll never understand others without first understanding yourself."

Steven tried to narrow his focus on his own body. It felt like every little cell in his body was tingling. He kept focusing, sure he was making progress, but ultimately nothing happened. "Uh, Emerald, am I supposed to be seeing anything in particular?"

"It could be different for every gem. Rose used to describe it as similar to human 'aura' readings. Though I never understood what that meant."

"Aura…" Steven echoed softly. "Cool. So what do you see it as?"

"I don't really see anything. It's more of a feeling that radiates from others. In the end, it's up to you in how you interpret what you sense."

"Right." He resumed his breathing, glancing down at his own body and occasionally at the air around himself. With all his heart he willed something to appear. Time seemed to stand still as he sat there waiting for a sign. After what felt like an hour Steven heaved a sigh. "Emerald, I don't think it's working."

The green gem gave him a sympathetic look and put a hand on his shoulder. "It won't come all at once. But I know you can do it." She seemed to consider a thought and sat back, tossing him a smile. "May I ask you something, Steven?"

"Sure."

"Do you miss your mother?"

Steven frowned. "Yeah… Yeah I do."

"I miss her, too." Emerald admitted. "She was the reason I joined the Crystal Gems before. Gems aren't usually known for the kind of rebellion she showed. She taught me that what I felt when I looked at other beings and their hearts, wasn't a bad thing." She paused, looking right at Steven. "Why don't you try one more time? But this time I want you to try to feel Rose."

Steven looked surprised at her instructions but gave a tiny nod. He refocused, imagining his mother like he'd seen her in every photograph and the video she'd left him. She was so beautiful and the kindest person he knew, even if he hadn't been able to know her in life. He missed her more than he could admit.

A faint glow appeared in his vision and he looked down at himself in shock to see that there was a light purple tint to his skin and clothes, which quickly changed to a bright gold before he could register what he was seeing.

"Emerald, I think its working!" He cried out. "It's like I'm covered in gold sparkles!"

Emerald smiled down at him. "Gold was illumination for Rose. Wisdom and understanding."

Steven looked up at her, the faint glow starting to fade away. "Whoa." He grinned and leaped up to his feet. "I did it! I did the heart thing!" He started dancing around the room, cheering at his victory.

Emerald couldn't help a laugh at the sight of him and she stood, watching him bounce around. "It's the first step. I bet you'll be even better at it than I am someday."

"Really?" He turned to her, the biggest grin on his face that she'd ever seen.

She smiled back at him and motioned behind him to the door of her room. "Why don't we celebrate your accomplishment?"

"Yeah! This deserves _two_ donuts!" Steven continued his bouncing right up to the door, waiting for Emerald to catch up and open it.

But the green gem paused in her stride, a look of confusion on her face. She glanced up at the ceiling and then hurried to the door. "Go to the kitchen, Steven." Emerald called back to him.

As she strode out of her room they found that Garnet was three steps ahead of them, having sensed something as well. The duo hurried from the house with Steven on their heels, and Garnet surged ahead of the group to take the lead, leaping up onto the side of the temple mountain and climbing up it. Emerald prepared to follow her before Steven cried out.

"Wait!" He huffed and puffed, trying to catch up to her.

Emerald frowned. "I told you to wait inside!" She groaned and changed her form into a large bird, picking up Steven in her talons. "I can't believe this. Stay behind us, okay?" She cawed down to Steven, who gave her a thumbs-up as he was lifted off of the ground. Emerald flew up to the summit of the mountain, hovering briefly to release Steven before changing back to her normal form.

Steven was given a chance to catch his breath on the ride up and hurried the rest of the way up to the lighthouse where he'd seen Garnet disappear to. He pushed open the main door in time to catch Garnet leaping up the spiral staircase. Emerald caught up to Steven by then and led the way up to the top of the tower.

"You know you are never to return here!" Garnet's voice rang out above them, urging them on.

The door to the room had been bashed in, likely by Garnet herself, and Steven came to a grinding halt when he saw what lay inside.

Sitting on top of the dormant light of the lighthouse was what he could only assume was a gem. And after a brief look over of the being Steven could pick out a diamond shaped gem gleaming like gold on their stomach, nestled just above their belly button. Their skin was a pale and almost sickly yellow, a bush of brown hair hanging down to cover half of their face. They raised a hand to make a gesture towards Garnet, _tsk_ing her, and Steven noticed that instead of the normal five fingers the mystery gem had only three – two small appendages on either side of a larger one.

"Now now," The mystery gem spoke smoothly, their words almost like a deep and rumbling purr. "Don't be so hostile towards visitors. You'll never make any friends that way."

"We are no friends with you, or any like you." Garnet pressed.

"That _must_ be a lie, because you have one like me with you." The golden gem slid down from the light to stand on the ground, easily matching Garnet in height. "Although I suppose you can't be friends if you had to _steal_ him." The gem's eyes gleamed, a hateful fire in them.

"What's going on?" Steven whispered, looking up at Emerald.

Emerald's face was filled with disdain. "That's Pyrite, a deserter and a traitor."


End file.
